: Wedding Planners by Day, Animal Rescuers Always: The Couple That Impressed Nat Geo #IndiaNEWS #Animal Welfare It was no less than a magic show. Benhail Antao safely removed the third snake from behind

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Wedding Planners by Day, Animal Rescuers Always: The Couple That Impressed Nat Geo #IndiaNEWS #Animal Welfare
It was no less than a magic show.
Benhail Antao safely removed the third snake from behind an Air Conditioning unit in a Goan house and handed it over to his wife, Louise Remedios. It seemed like an endless chain of handkerchiefs coming out of a magician’s pocket.
At one point, Louise was holding seven snakes in her hand as she, Benhail and the family members watched the mystery unfold in horror.
Soon, the couple realised the mystery was the mating season for snakes. A female snake had been stuck behind the machine, and six other snakes came after smelling her scent. But, unfortunately, in the process, all of them got stuck.
“The rescue call was only for one snake as even the family did not know there were so many snakes. In such an out-of-the-syllabus situation, we had to maintain a calm silence and focus on handling them without scaring the snakes. The situation can quickly turn dangerous once the snakes panic. They can bite in turn,� Louise tells The Better India.
This incident occurred recently, and they handled the entire operation one can tell they have been doing this for a long time.
“It has been 20 years since I have been doing it,� Benhail tells The Better India.
“I involved myself in the rescue mission ten years ago,� Lousie adds.
Lousie and Benhail after rescuing a crocodile
The husband-wife duo from Panjim are wedding planners by profession and animal rescuers by passion. They have championed snake rescue missions along with bats, crocodiles, leopards, etc.
As the honorary wildlife warden of Goa’s forest department, Benhail is often called by the police and the forest department for rescue missions across the state.
With an average of 3-8 rescue calls daily, the couple is busy juggling between organising luxury weddings and relocating animals in their natural habitat.
Benhail was around nine when he first encountered a snake. Born and raised in Moira village of Goa, spotting snakes was fairly common. He had seen how people manhandled or killed snakes because they were “supposed to be dangerous. �

“I had only heard snakes bite, but I had never seen one do that. So with my bare hands, I pinned down the snake, caught it and relocated it to a safer place. Of course, in the initial years, the way I was rescuing was not the safest either for the snake or me, but there was no internet or books to guide me back then. I was 18 when I got my first snakebite because it had been my fault. Snakes only bite when they get stressed or scared,� recalls Benhail.
If Benhail is the kind of person who is calm and unafraid of snakes, Lousie is on the other spectrum. She trembles and sweats at the sight of a snake even today, but there’s one thing that makes her a good rescuer.

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